<figure id="attachment_453861" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-453861" style="width: 1778px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="a7db5b39"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2026/01/d4bf74b58e1f8dceb406985e1a9393b3.jpg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-453861" class="wp-caption-text">Mr. Ogawa stands to see off the crowd after the &#8220;Watching the Vote Opening.&#8221; Many of the supporters were women of child-rearing age and elderly men.</figcaption></figure>
<h3> How did he win the confidence of the citizens again?</h3>
<p><span class="strongInContent"> Akira, Akira!</span></p>
<p> At 7 p.m. on January 12, the banquet hall of a hotel in Maebashi, where the &#8220;meeting to watch the vote count&#8221; was held, was packed with as many as 300 supporters, staff, and media representatives. When it came time for Akira Ogawa, 43, to make his appearance, the crowd erupted in wild calls for Akira. Ogawa was basking in the afterglow of his victory as he embraced the seven madams who had handed him a bouquet of flowers.</p>
<p> After the meeting, Mr. Ogawa stood outside the hotel to see off his supporters (photo above). Waving his hands, shaking hands, and thanking his supporters with his whole body, he approached the new mayor.</p>
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<p> &#8211;Mr. Ogawa, how do you feel now &#8230;&#8230;.</p>
<p> Immediately, Mr. Ogawa&#8217;s smile faded,</p>
<p><span class="strongInContent"> I&#8217;m sorry. I have to clean up.</span></p>
<p> He then said, &#8220;I have to clean up. Then, as if to control the reporter, a person from his office interrupted and spat out, &#8220;I&#8217;m sorry, but I have to clean up the mess.</p>
<p><span class="strongInContent"> He continued, &#8220;You can&#8217;t keep telling &#8230;&#8230; about something that&#8217;s already done. That&#8217;s enough.</span></p>
<p> He was silent about the more than ten secret meetings at the love hotel, insisting that they had discussed business and personal problems and had never had a sexual relationship. Why did Mr. Ogawa, who can hardly be said to have fulfilled his responsibility to explain his suspicions, once again win the confidence of the citizens?</p>
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<p><span class="strongInContent"> The biggest reason is probably the public&#8217;s rejection of &#8220;politics and money. In recent years, there have been a series of scandals, such as the revelation of the LDP Gunma Prefectural Federation&#8217;s slush fund problem and the arrest of a former Maebashi deputy mayor in a government bid-rigging scandal. This time, Ogawa&#8217;s opponent was supported by the LDP. It is said that the rejection of interest politics outweighed the dislike of the secret meetings at the love hotel.</span></p>
<p> He was also very thorough in his efforts to get around his supporters.</p>
<p><span class="strongInContent"> In September and October of last year, when the love hotel affair was widely reported, he cancelled more than 10 official engagements, including the Maebashi Festival, in rapid succession. At a meeting held in December to re-elect Akira Ogawa, he tearfully appealed for support in front of 200 supporters.</span></p>
<div data-friday-nextpage-lead=" The current city councilor reveals the heartbreaking cries of his supporters."></div>
<h3>″Boksachi&#8217;s Municipal Government″.</h3>
<p> But re-election cannot mean all is not on the side of no. A current female city council member reveals the heartbreaking cries of the frontline.</p>
<p><span class="strongInContent"> One of the city hall employees was most afraid of Ogawa&#8217;s return to office. At the time of the love hotel scandal, city hall employees were busy responding to complaints. They are now saying, &#8216;I&#8217;m afraid we&#8217;ll be forced to deal with complaints again,&#8217; and &#8216;I&#8217;m afraid of what kind of trouble we&#8217;ll get into next. The election results show that more than 60,000 votes were cast for the other candidate. We have to take seriously the fact that there are that many citizens who will not allow her to return.</span></p>
<p> We must not forget that last November, seven factions of the city council, of which 32 council members, or more than 80% of the total 38, submitted a letter of recommendation for Ogawa&#8217;s resignation. The female city councilor mentioned above said, &#8220;After that problem, I think it is necessary to create a system that allows anyone to follow up and check the mayor&#8217;s actions. We plan to propose the agenda when the opportunity arises.&#8221; As she cautioned, the trust relationship with the council remains broken. It will be extremely difficult for Ogawa to get a majority of the council to approve his proposals, and there are fears that the city government will stagnate.</p>
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<p> Relations with Gunma Governor Kazuta Yamamoto (67) have also cooled. During the mayoral campaign, Governor Yamamoto has been openly critical of Ogawa&#8217;s defense of the reported secret meetings, posting on his blog, &#8220;Lies must not be allowed to go unchallenged.</p>
<p><span class="strongInContent"> In August of last year, the prefecture and the city of Maebashi jointly launched the &#8220;Creative City Concept&#8221; to redevelop the central area of the city. After his reelection, Governor Yamamoto said at a press conference, &#8220;The gulf between the two is deep, as he said, &#8216;I&#8217;m going to deal with them in a straightforward manner (as a public figure). There is widespread concern that public works projects may be delayed due to a lack of cooperation.</span></p>
<p> Only they think it&#8217;s over. Their reelection was also the beginning of a rocky road.</p>
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<h3> Will he be able to produce results and bring smiles to the faces of the citizens this time around?</h3>
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<figure id="attachment_453864" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-453864" style="width: 2311px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="2a5dfce6"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2026/01/a22810c4f296ed9fd80304d2bc5e499d.jpg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-453864" class="wp-caption-text"> Hug time with the staff. During the press conference, his expression was stiff as if he was conscious of the camera, but backstage he was all smiles.</figcaption></figure>
<figure id="attachment_453865" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-453865" style="width: 2307px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="dde272b9"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2026/01/f3c150b77a10932047b2ba1cb11b0ced.jpg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-453865" class="wp-caption-text"> The victory was so overwhelming that the candidate was declared the &#8220;winner&#8221; even before the polls opened. However, the allegation of infidelity remains, and restoring trust is an urgent task.</figcaption></figure>
<p> From the January 30/February 6 combined issue of &#8220;FRIDAY</p>


 Takehiko Kohiyama

 Maebashi, Gunma Prefecture, held a mayoral election on January 12. Akira Ogawa, who resigned due to problems caused by allegations of "secret meetings at a love hotel," was reelected. However, his reelection does not mean that everything is on the side. A current city council member reveals the heartbreaking cries of the people on the ground.

Akira Ogawa, New Mayor of Maebashi City, Survives “Love Hotel Resignation” “Thorny Road” Ahead for “Bogus Mayor

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